OCR Psychology - Research Methods (P1)

What are 3 types of experiments?

Laboratory, Field + Quasi

What is a laboratory experiment?

An experiment where an IV is manipulated to see the effect on the DV under controlled conditions to establish cause + effect

What is a field experiment?

An experiment where an IV is manipulated and a DV is measured in the participats’ natural environment

What is a quasi experiment?

An experiment where the IV occurs naturally (cannot be manipulated), these can be done in labs + the field

Which type of experiment is the most reliable and replicable?

Laboratory experiments

Which type of experiment has the highest ecological validity?

Field experiments

What is hard to establish in quasi experiments?

Cause + effect (2)

What is an independent measures design?

An experiment where different groups do different conditions

What is a repeated measures design?

An experiment where the same group takes part in all conditions

What is a matched participants experimental design?

An experiment where there are separate groups who are matched on certain characteristics

What are participant variables?

Differences between participants

What are order effects?

Practice + fatigue effects

What are practice effects?

When participants become better at tasks through practice

What are fatigue effects?

When participants can become bored / tired of the tasks

What are demand characteristics?

When participants guess the aim of the study + change their behaviour to help / go against the study

What is counterbalancing?

When the experimenter alters the order in which participants perform the different conditions to overcome order effects

What is randomisation?

When the experimenter gets participants to carry out different conditions in a random order

What do repeated measures design experiments avoid?

Participant variables

What do independent measures design experiments lower the risk of?

Order effects + demand characteristics

What is a disadvantage of a matched partcipants design?

They can be time consuming to prepare

What are correlational studies?

Studies that look for a relationship between 2 co-variables

What can correlations NOT establish?

Cause + effect

What do correlation coefficients range between?

-1 to +1

What is a weak correlation?

0.0 - 0.3

What is a moderate correlation?

0.4 - 0.7

What is a strong correlation?

Above 0.7

What is an observation?

Where a researcher observes and records participants’ behaviour but does not manipulate any variables

What is a structured observation?

When researchers have behavioural categories for the behaviour they are observing

What is a coding frame?

When different behaviours are represented by codes

What is an unstructured observation?

When a researcher records all behaviour they observe

What type of data do structured observations tend to produce?

Quantitative

What type of data do unstructured observations tend to produce?

Qualitative

What situations are unstructed observations useful in?

Situations that are relatively unexplored

What is a naturalistic observation?

An observation that takes place in the participants’ natural environment

What is a controlled observation?

An observation that takes place under controlled conditions

What is an overt observation?

An observation where the participants are aware that they are being observed

What is a covert observation?

An observation where the participants are observed secretly

What is socially desirable behaviour?

When people behave in a way that paints them in a good light, not their natural behaviour

What is a participant observation?

An observation where the researcher interacts with the participants

What is a non-participant observation?

An observation where the researcher observes the participants from afar + do not interact with them

What is event sampling?

When the researcher records every instance of a certain behaviour

What is time sampling?

When the researcher records behaviour at specified time intervals

What is inter-rather reliability?

When two or more observers agree about what was observed

What is a self-report?

When a participant is asked about their thoughts and behaviour + record their answers

What are questionnaires?

Written questions to find out about people’s views + opinions

What are different types of closed questions?

Fixed choice, checklist, ranking, likert scale + semantic differential scale

What are fixed choice questions?

Questions where participants choose from fixed responses

What are ranking questions?

Questions where participants are told to put a list of options in order

What are likert scale questions?

Questions where participants indicate on a scale how much they agree with a statement to an extent

What are semantic differential scale questions?

Questions where participants indicate where they stand on a scale between two contrasting adjectives

What is test-retest reliability? (External reliability)

When a participant answers similarly to two different questions

What is split half reliability? (Internal reliability)

When a questionnaire has similar questions in then first half and the second half

What is an interview?

When a researcher asks participants questions verbally

What is a structured interview?

An interview with set questions, all participants answer in the same order

What is a semi-structured interview?

An interview where a few of the questions are pre-planned + others are based on participants’ responses

What is an unstructured interview?

An interview where no questions are planned in advance and the interviewer adapts according to the participant

What are methodological issues?

Problems with how a study has been carried out

What is generalisability?

When the sample of a study is representative of the wider population

What is a study called if its sample consists of only males?

Androcentric

What is a study called if its sample only consists of females?

Gynocentric

What makes a study reliable?

When a study can be replicated + achieves similar results

What is internal validity?

When a study measures what it aimed to, establishing cause + effect

What is construct validity? (Internal validity)

When a study is designed in a way that it measures what it set out to

What is experimental validity? (Internal validity)

When participants believe in the experimental situation

What are the two types of external validity?

Population + ecological validity

What is random sampling?

A sample where each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

What is opportunity sampling?

A sample made up of people who are readily available

What is snowball sampling?

A sample where a particular type of person recruits similar people to be participants

What is self-selected sampling?

A sample where participants volunteer to take part

What is the most ethical sampling method?

Self-selected sampling

What is the most generalisable sampling method?

Random sampling

What is the quickest sampling method?

Opportunity sampling

What is the most time consuming sampling method?

Snowball sampling

What is assent?

As children are not able to consent to experiments, their consent is measured in how willing they are to take part

What are the ethical considerations?

Informed consent, right to withdraw, protection from psychological harm, debriefing, confidentiality + deception

What ethical considerations link to the ethical guideline - Respect?

Informed consent, right to withdraw + confidentiality

What ethical considerations link to the ethical guideline - Responsibility?

Protection from psychological harm + debriefing

Which ethical consideration links to the ethical guideline - Integrity?

No deception

What is an experimental hypothesis?

A hypothesis that refers to a difference between conditions

What is a one-tailed hypothesis?

A hypothesis that predicts the direction of the difference between variables

What is a two-tailed hypothesis?

A hypothesis that does not state the direction of the difference between variables

What is a null hypothesis?

A hypothesis that states there will be no difference between the variables

What do all hypotheses need to be?

Fully operationalised

What is a correlational hypothesis?

A hypothesis that describes a relationship between co-variables (not a difference)

What is a type 1 error?

When the null hypothesis is wrongly rejected

What is a type 2 error?

When the null hypothesis is wrongly accepted (too strict)

What are the different sections of a report?

The abstract, introduction, method (design, sample, materials + procedure), results, discussion, references + appendices

For chi² does the observed value have to be larger or smaller than the critical value?

Larger

For Mann Whitney does the observed value have to be larger or smaller than the critical value?

Smaller

For Spearman’s Rho does the observed value have to be larger or smaller than the critical value?

Larger / equal to

For Wilcoxon does the observed value have to be larger or smaller than the critical value?

Smaller / equal to

For binomial sign does the observed value have to be larger or smaller than the critical value?

Smaller / equal to

What does induction mean?

Observing 1st then coming up with a hypothesis

What does deduction mean?

Making a hypothesis 1st then testing it

What is in the introduction of a report?

Background studies + explanation of the particular study

What is in the method of a report?

Type of design, sample + procedure

What is in the discussion of a report?

Conclusion, links to previous research + weaknesses of the research

What is in the appendices of a report?

Materials, raw data, calculations + standardised instructions

What is nominal data?

Results that are in two or more categories (unrelated)

What is ordinal data?

Data along a scale - like ratings + ranks (uneven spaces between gaps)